Merrifield will soon have a new Popeyes — and its infamous chicken sandwich.
The fast-food restaurant will be located in the Merrifield Plaza Shopping Center (2835 Gallows Road) and is expected to open by the end of September, Nader Saleh, the owner and operator of the upcoming location, said.
Signage outside the upcoming location and in the parking lot advertises a full menu, including the wildly popular chicken sandwich.
The eatery will be open every day from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m., Saleh said.
Currently, two other Popeyes locations are in the nearby area, including one in Fairfax (9661 Fairfax Blvd) and Vienna (325 E Maple Avenue).
For anyone seeking employment, the location is hiring and people are welcome to apply online.
Autumn has officially arrived today (Monday) despite it still feeling like summer with temperatures in the 80s and 90s.
While the weather doesn’t have that crisp fall feeling (yet), other signs ushering in the new season have arrived. Pumpkin spice lattes returned a month ago and Halloween-themed stores and selfie museums are popping up in the Tysons area.
To celebrate the start of a new season, Tysons Reporter wants to know what your favorite fall activity is.
Dumpster Fire Broke Out at Tysons Building — Firefighters responded reports of smoke from a dumpster fire in a Tysons building in the 1500 block of Boyd Pointe Way Sunday (Sept. 22) afternoon. The fire sprinklers were activated and the fire was extinguished. No injuries were reported. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
McLean Community Garage Sale Recap — “More than 100 people stood in line to enter the Fall Community Garage Sale hosted by the McLean Community Center, where more than 50 vendors had set up shop on Saturday morning.” [Connection Newspapers]
Falls Church Group Home Wins Award — “The City of Falls Church will be presented the “Community Health” Innovation award by the Virginia Municipal League (VML) in recognition of the Miller House, a group home for adults with disabilities. The award will be presented to the City at the annual VML conference in October.” [City of Falls Chuch press release]
Tysons Tech Center Renovated — “Element Critical, a leading provider of data center and IT infrastructure services driven by customer-centric solutions and backed by engineering expertise, today announced completion of a major renovation and transformation of its 280,000 square foot Tysons Technology Center on its 14.5 acre campus near Tysons.” [Yahoo]
McLean Makes Best Places to Live List — Dranesville landed on the #14 spot on Money’s “Best Places to Live in 2019” list. [Money]
Tysons Office Sells for Millions — “Brandywine Realty Trust has sold 1900 Gallows Rd., here for $35 million. The buyer of the 210,000-square foot building is Foulger-Pratt.” [GlobeSt.com]
Tysons-Based Tegna Acquires 11 TV Stations — “Tysons-based Tegna Inc. has completed its $740 million cash acquisition of 11 television stations from Texas-based Nexstar Media Group… The 11 stations were among 19 divested by Nexstar for a total of $1.32 billion to meet federal antitrust requirements as it acquires Chicago-based Tribune Media for $7.2 billion.” [Virginia Business]
Mental Health Awareness Walk in Tysons — “More than 400 supporters came out to Tyson’s Corner on Saturday to raise funds for programs that help people cope with depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.” [Local DVM]
Glass Still in Falls Church Recycling Bins — “With some surrounding jurisdictions ditching the one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to recycling, the City of Falls Church is continuing to accept all kinds of items — including glass — at the curb while joining local governments in informing residents to remove other disposables from recycle bins altogether.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Falls Church Has Nearly $3 Million Surplus — “The City of Falls Church scored a whopping $2.4 million surplus over budget for the Fiscal Year 2019, which ended June 30, the City’s Director of Finance Kiran Bawa reported to the F.C. City Council at its work session Monday night.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Tysons may not have the liveliest nightlife at the moment, but that could soon change as more late-night restaurants and places to hang out open. “Tysons After Dark” will highlight a different spot every week.
Today is National Pepperoni Pizza Day and to celebrate, Tysons Reporter has rounded up eateries and pizza chains in the area serving up pepperoni pies.
New York-style pizza fans are in luck — many of the pizzerias in the area offer that type.
Here’s a list of local pizza places and mostly regional chains that serve up pepperoni pizza options:
- Crust Pizzeria Napoletana (8415 Old Courthouse Road): The locally-owned restaurant serves up Neapolitan pizzas, including a pepperoni one with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and fontina.
- Andy’s Pizza (2001 International Drive): Located in Tysons Galleria, Andy’s Pizza offers pepperoni pizza by the slice and whole pizza.
- Lost Dog Cafe (1690A Anderson Road): Known for its specialty sandwiches and dog-themed murals, the local cafe offers three gourmet pizzas with pepperoni — and diners also have their option to create their own.
- Paisano’s (8603 Westwood Center Drive): Diners have their choice between “Paisano’s Supreme” with pepperoni, sausage, ham, meatballs, onions, mushrooms and green peppers and “Meat Lovers ” with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, ham and cheese. Paisano’s also offers a create-your-own option.
Some national chains in the area include:
- California Pizza Kitchen (7939 Tysons Corner Center, Suite L): The chain offers a variety of pizzas with pepperoni, like “The Works” with spicy Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, mozzarella, red onions, green peppers, olives and wild Greek oregano or the “Mushroom Pepperoni Sausage” topped with everything in its name. Diners can choose from thin cust, regular crust and gluten-free options.
- Sbarro (1961 Chain Bridge Road): Based on the “original New York slice,” Sbarro serves up a pepperoni pie and stromboli.
- Famous Famiglia (1961 Chain Bridge Road): Don’t want a whole pizza? The Famous Famiglia chain offers pepperoni pizza by the slice, in addition to whole pizzas and pepperoni strombolis.
- Papa John’s (8501 Tyco Road, Suite 1A): Diners have until midnight to decide if they want a pepperoni or meatball pepperoni pizza from the chain at its Tysons location.
- Manhattan Pizza (8365 Leesburg Pike): Located along Leesburg Pike, the pizza place sells the “Brooklyn Meat Pie” with tomato sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham and meatballs and the “Manhattan Supreme” with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, green peppers and mushrooms.
- &pizza (1961 Chain Bridge Road): &pizza offers gluten-free and vegan dough options. While people can create their own pizzas, one of the popular pizzas there is the “American Honey” with spicy tomato, mozzarella, pepperoni, arugula, goat cheese, hot honey and red pepper flakes, according to the website.
- MOD Pizza (8350 Leesburg Pike): The newly opened eatery in Pike 7 Plaza offers artisan pizzas. The “Mad Dog” has mozzarella, pepperoni, mild sausage, ground beef and red sauce, while the “Tristan” has mozzarella, asiago, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and pesto.
Photo via Lost Dog Cafe/Facebook
The Vienna Police Department wants people to beware fraudulent calls from people pretending to be Vienna police officers.
A man reported one such scam call last Friday, Sept. 13, around 1 p.m.
“A man who resides in Fairfax County came to the Vienna Police Station advising he was on the phone with someone claiming to be a Vienna police officer and they were attempting to defraud him of money,” according to a police report.
When a police officer tried to speak to the caller, but “the caller hung up when the officer identified himself,” police said. The phone number that the call came from was the Vienna Police Department’s non-emergency number.
Police told the man that the call was a scam and advised him to report it to the Fairfax County Police Department for the attempted fraud, according to the report.
“Spoofing telephone numbers is a common scam that is used in an attempt to defraud citizens out of money. Our department does not make calls in an attempt to collect money,” the police department said.
If anyone lost jewelry at Caboose Tavern (124 Church Street NE), Vienna police may know of its whereabouts.
“A member of the Vienna Optimists Club advised a citizen found a piece of jewelry and turned it over to them at the Caboose” on Saturday, Sept. 14, according to police.
Photo via Facebook
A Neapolitan pizza place plans to open a new location in the Mosaic District.
Pupatella, a local Italian pizza chain, put up signage announcing their new location at 140 Penny Lane, adjacent to Penny Lane Park.
The restaurant chain was founded in 2007 by Enzo Algarme, whose craving for authentic and homemade pizza inspired him to open his own pizzeria, according to the pizza chain’s website.
The menu offers customers a variety of pizza options, including traditional fried Italian food, salads, wine, dessert and coffee.
The Mosaic District spot is the latest in Pupatella’s expansion in Northern Virginia. The pizza local announced new locations in Arlington and Reston earlier this year.
Tysons Reporter reached out for more information and is waiting to hear back.
A community space for textile and fabric arts is now open in the City of Falls Church.
TINT opened last weekend at 417 W. Broad Street, Suite 100, according to a Facebook post.
“TINT is a space for modern makers quilt, sew, knit, spin, crochet, and more,” the website says. People can also find fabric, yarn and other materials for sale.
TINT plans to offer workshops and classes, and starting next week, people can take part in a lunchtime series of workshops about self-care. Art therapist Jennifer Baldwin is scheduled to stitch a fabric mandala on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from noon-1 p.m.
The space is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. on Sundays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Fridays, along with appointment-only times, according to the website. TINT is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Photo via TINT/Facebook
Locals may spot a new sculpture outside Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library in the near future.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is slated to approve a public art donation from Promila and Krishan Chhabra at the meeting next Tuesday (Sept. 25).
The Chhabras want to mount a bronze, life-size sculpture by artist Dennis Smith of a girl reading a book outside the library’s front window.
The piece is meant to help beautify the library, according to county staff.
More from county staff:
After she retired from the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) system in 2017, Ms. Promila Chhabra and her husband, Krishan, looked for a way to express her gratitude to the county for her fulfilling career as a library aide at the library. The couple became inspired by the idea of donating a monument for installation on the library grounds…
The donors envision mounting the bronze on a 3-foot cinderblock pedestal with brick siding and a polished black stone pedestal top, with a small plaque on one side of the pedestal that states the dedication is made “in honor of Promila Chhabra’s years of service” to the library.
If the county board OKs the donation, the Chhabras would then select the contractor and pay for the construction costs.
Photos via Fairfax County
About 40 protesters joined a climate strike this morning in the City of Falls Church as part of a nationwide climate change strike ahead of the UN Climate Change panel.
Protesters gathered outside of Brown’s Hardware (100 W. Broad Street) around 8 a.m. today (Sept. 20) with signs demanding “Climate Action Now” and dogs.
“It’s very important to act locally to do good global things,” Councilmember Phil Duncan said. “It may seem small to start locally, but locally is where [the action’s] at.”
Shaun Dakin, the organizer of the local strike, told Tysons Reporter that he posted information about the strike earlier this week on the global climate strike’s website and on Facebook with the hopes that two or three people would show up.
“I’m totally surprised,” Dakin said about the turnout. “It shows the power of social media.”
Dakin, a Falls Church resident who is the social media director for Moms Clean Air Force, said that the strike is a way to show people that they get involved with activism locally.
“You don’t need to go to a big march with millions of people,” Dakin said,
The nationwide strikes were inspired by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old who Dakin said has sparked climate change activism among young adults and kids.
Dakin said that he wants people who care about climate change to head to the polls in the upcoming election and vote for politicians who will take action on climate change.
Babs Williams, a protester who brought her 14-year-old dog Katie in a stroller, said that she heard about the event from a friend.
“I feel like if you love your children and grandchildren, you should try to turn this toxic climate change mess around,” she said, adding that people need to vote for politicians who will protect the environment.
“Mine is not too radical a message,” Williams said. “It’s just common sense.”
A local organization is hosting a charity tailgate to help people who are experiencing homelessness and struggling youths.
The Tysons Partnership event will have live music from the Decades Band, beer and wine tents, a pop-up playground, arcade games, raffles and a speech from Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, according to the event page.
The event aims to raise funds for Second Story, a non-profit founded in Vienna that works to improve the lives of struggling young adults and people experiencing homelessness.
Tickets are on sale for $30 and include two complimentary drinks. The event will be held outside regardless of the weather.
Drew Sunderland, a spokesperson for Tysons Partnership, said that the organization tries to work with local nonprofits in the regional Tysons area or surrounding communities.
“Second Story was identified as a great partner that was in need,” Sunderland said, adding that their work has a real impact on the Tysons community.
The tailgate is part of the Tysons Partnership’s larger Season of Giving, which raised money for similar organizations, like Food for Others. This year’s other events included a 5k and a happy hour event. In years past, the event has attracted over 1,000 attendees, according to the website.
Second Story supports a variety of people including homeless teens, survivors of domestic abuse and young mothers in northern Virginia, according to their website. The organization matches at-risk youth with counseling, shelter, food or other forms of assistance based on their needs, free of charge.
Teens between the ages of 13 to 17 and young mothers can text TEENHELP to 855-11 if they would like assistance from the program.
The party will last from 5-8 p.m. in Valo park next Wednesday (Sept. 25).
Photo via Valo Park
